Catch My Breath

By the narrowest of margins - 2 points - Falls Road captured the 2013 Club Challenge Overall Team title on Sunday. Check out the new trophy. The parade is Tuesday.

A full post will follow but congratulations to Female Overall Champion, Melissa Majumdar!

Help me out Ryan, I'm not good at math. How could the Striders win the men's AND women's individual team titles but NOT the overall title?

Interesting question. As I've explained numerous, numerous times, individual team scoring is based on your top 12 men and top 6 women, but in overall scoring it's based on your fastest 15 people, with a minimum of 4 women. Individual team scoring for the women uses their gender-actualized place. So Melissa wins, she gets 1 point. Chrissie is 2nd, she gets 2 points. Striders may have had the next two or three places, so that means 3, 4 and 5 points.

But in the overall scoring, each woman counts as her overall place. So say Melissa was 50th overall, that means she is 50 points now instead of 1. Since our top two women were very far ahead of the next women, that really helped us out since they had 4 in before our 4.

I didn't create the scoring, I just abide by it.

After the race in the presidents' meeting the issue of scoring was brought up. In particular, since there are more women in the field now, perhaps more women should count. I raised my hand just to remind them that our ladies raised that very point 3 or 4 years ago. The good news is that they are open for suggestions on perhaps a new scoring system. So if YOU have any ideas, send them my way and I will forward them on.

All We Do is Win

Big Start - Big Finish!!

UPDATE: The Ladies Get it Done!!!

Big start to our day with the Philly Marathon & Half Marathon going on today as well out in Arizona with the Ironman.  Here is a quick update:

CHRISSIE RAMSEY runs 1:14:57 to place 7th in the half and QUALIFIES for the OLYMPIC TRIALS!!  (USA!!!  [We got him!])

Alex Battaglino: 2:29:31 in the full.

Out in Arizona Alyssa & Ryan are out of the water.  Per Zero who is on-site Ryan came out in 1:01:30ish and Alyssa was out in 1:05:36.  Alyssa's coach (Hillary Biscay) tweeted that it appears to be a slow day in the water for all Age Groupers.  Onto the bike they go...

UPDATE: ALYSSA GODESKY has a huge PR and completes the Arizona Ironman in 10:45:41 finishing 2nd in the 25-29 Age Group and punches her ticket to Kona!!  According to Claire she moved into 2nd in the final mile of the 140.6 mile race.

Check out the tweets that many folks have provided throughout the day @BMoreRunning

The Summer of Meg(s)

Not to be outdone by Meg D, Meg McNew (aka Meg 1.0, aka O.G. McNeezy) takes top honors at today's Elkridge Father's Day 8k.  "I love cash prize races that no one knows about :)" was the text I received just minutes after she must have crossed the line.  After yesterday's disappointing 10 miler, Meg raced this one out of vengeance, winning in 32:14.  I thought it was her first win of 2011, but I was corrected - she had raced a low key 5k in Delaware in March and just didn't tell me.

All the way out in Alaska, which is pretty close to Russia, Ed Aramayo was in town for a wedding and figured, why not do a race?  With no desire to run the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon or Half, he opted for the 5 Mile (which is really 5.6 miles).  He won, easily, in 30:09, over a bunch of people from Alaska and then like two people from the lower 48. 

More winning...Dave Berdan won today's GBMC Father's Day 5k, now in Hunt Valley, in 15:34.  Old Man Dave Berardi was there, 7th in 18:05.  Wonder if the course was hard, or long, because those times seem slow. 

In super south Jersey at th Parvin State Park Duathlon, Adam Forgione got the comfortable win in 1:00:49, almost 3 minutes up on 2nd place, with the fastest two runs and one of the fastest bike splits.

And even though the fields were small (see: like 2 or 3 girls in each event), Lauren Boof Dennisuk notched two track W's this week at the Ann Arbor Mini Meet, in the mile (6:24) and 3200m (13:03).  Awesome job!  Seriously, 7 winners this week is crazy!

At yesterday's George Sheehan Classic 5 Miler in Red Bank, NJ, Team Muffinblood reigned supreme in the sibling-sibling category, reclaiming its title from 2006 or 2007.  Kevin McGrath ran a course best 35:02 and I ran extremely subpar but apparently it was good enough.  Remember, 98% of life sometimes comes down to whoever is willing to fill out the paperwork.  Lillian Pinault was not pleased with her time, but 36:32 on this course, good enough for 38th F, is pretty good.

Meg D Strikes Again

Megan DiGregorio records her 4th win in 4 weekends, winning today's "Balitmore 10 Miler" in a season best time of 1:05:15.  Despite the conditions, this is 3.5 minutes faster than she ran at Club Challenge, and moved her into 10th in the all-time top 10 list for 10 milers (individual).  She led another TWSS podium sweep, as New Becky Parks (2nd, 1:06:38, about 2 minutes faster than CC) and Lee DiPietro (3rd, 1:07:56) rounded it out.  Jackie Truncellito was 4th, in 1:08:37, and Meg McNew took 7th (1:10:33). 

For the dudes, Andrew Beef Jaffe took 7th (1:00:36) and Ryan Orner was 10th (1:01:25).  Joel Brusewitz narrowly avoided getting girled by Meg D, running 1:05:07.  Matt Castille came in at 1:09:13, and Dave Ploskonka was out pacing the 7 minute group, running right on 1:09:40 in the middle of a 22 mile day.  Pete Mulligan was just off his CC time, running 1:18:13. 

Jared Jaskot ran with wife Emily, as the two crossed in the fantastic time of 1:22:18.  Dr. Rodney Taylor finished at 1:22:41, and Christine Trzcinski came through at 1:23:21.  Some old school TNTers, Cynthia Evans (1:28:01) and Jan Cook (1:30:59) also ran.  And big Dan Goodman, coming across in 1:36:59. 

In Podunk, PA, Joel Gladfelter ran his summertime favorite, the Irv Zablocky Memorial Run - a 3.55 mile event - where he has had good success throughout the years.  This year he was coming in after a long comeback from his winter injury, and without the racing miles, wasn't as sharp as he's been.  He managed to finish in 4th, in 21:07 (5:57/mi).

Stay tuned for more results from the weekend!

Pat Wins Red Bank Tri

Pat McLoughlin wins the inaugural Red Bank Triathlon in 1:36:55, brother Tommy finishes 3rd in 1:39:05. To say it was windy would not even be accurate. The Navesink River was so choppy they had to shorten the swim from 750 yards to what may have been about 300 meters. Kayakers/life guards were having trouble.

Kevin McGrath finishes first ever triathlon, having swam just twice in his "build up" to the race.

At the Giant Acorn Triathlon, Ben Winterroth finishes 3rd overall in 2:05:38, a distance PR, using a solid swim, gnarly bike split and a much improved run.

Ed Aramayo finishes 3rd at yesterday's Newark Main Street Mile in Delaware, running a TWSS season road mile best at 4:40.3 (Ben ran 4:40.8 earlier at the Loudon Street Mile).